Before it all Happens
by LMSkippy
Summary: A oneshot prologue before the main events of Curious Incident. Was originally a school project.


***Yeah, so like I said, this was a school project. Our class read **_**The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time **_**and we had to write some form of expansion to it. This is a prologue set before the events of the novel. It is in Judy Boone's POV, or Chris' mother.**

I wake up. The darkness of the purplish night made it hard to see anything as I lay in my bed. The covers had fallen off of me through the night, leaving me shivering.

I waited for my eyes to adjust and felt around for Roger, who was still asleep upon his side of the double bed. When my eyes became focused I could see his face was half-covered by the blankets. He looked calm and relaxed. I was not.

A war had progressed through the night. One of the longing of my old life fighting the reality of it being insurmountable. The worst kind of war. One that occupies your thoughts and seizes control of your emotions. These wars engulf all your time and energy, leaving you at mercy. They remind you of what was and what could have been. And there is no winner, for no being can prevail the aftermath of a war. Only can they forget it. My life with Christopher was over, and a new one with Roger had begun.

I lay there for a long while. Still fighting the war, I got up out of bed and looked out the only window on the upper floor of my apartment.

The purplish night had become a blue dawn. The buzzing activity of a waking London filled my ears as I opened the window.

It had been three weeks since I left. Three abnormally long weeks which I had felt joy and grief and suffering. And guilt. Terrible guilt.

I walked to the less-than-appealing washroom across the corridor from my room. How I missed my old home. Apartments were depressing to live in, claustrophobic and grey.

I did my normal washing, as Christopher would have done it from his daily schedule, and tip-toed my way downstairs not to wake Roger.

The battle still raged in my head. The protective parapets surrounding me failed as if a battering ram was smashing it, attempting to break through and capture me. My thoughts became obscure. Only the strongest, most precious I could make sense of. Those were the thoughts and memories that defined me. New thoughts began to replace these. Thoughts of Christopher and my old life in Winston. I realized these thoughts define me the most. I almost lied down on the floor and cried, for I missed him dearly.

I flicked on the light switch that paired with the kitchen. Pathetic it was, plain wooden cabinets attached to a white wall, laminate tiles on the floor. An old Frigidaire sat in the top-left corner of the room, along with a counter with a small plastic sink. An oven and microwave sat opposite to the fridge.

I made a pot of tea, and sat down at the front of our dining room table.

And I stayed there. For how long I was oblivious. Minutes felt like hours. But it didn't matter how long it was.

My shield to the thoughts of Christopher had fallen, my parapet destroyed. The building force of the thoughts came flooding in. They seized my kingdom and captured me for ransom.

The overflow of the thoughts and questions consumed me. I was seeing and questioning things that I'd made an oath not to. Since I'd left Christopher and Ed.

How could've I given up? Why did I leave? Was I too weak to take care of my family? Was it for the best?

These forbidden thoughts and questions continued to progress. And then it stopped, and I cried. For hours I lay on the floor and sobbed. Roger came down to comfort me, but I pushed him away. I had to be alone. I cried for my life, taking pity on myself. It was a selfish mourning, and I knew it.

When I was out of tears, I justified my actions, but to no avail. They had been unnecessary. I knew what it cost to leave, and I accepted.

But deep down I knew my journey with my family was not over. I would write to him whenever I could. And some day I would visit him.

Contentment washed over me. The kind you feel when you sort issues out.

I would get through this. Eventually.


End file.
